Christopher Burch, seen here with restaurateur Jennifer Worthington, is being sued for discrimination. (Getty Images)

(Newser)
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In one of the stranger discrimination lawsuits in recent memory, a gay man is suing his straight former boss over an alleged pro-gay hiring bias. Jamie Ardigo says he was fired as HR director of venture capitalist Christopher Burch's company after trying to change its hiring practices. Ardigo tells ABC that he repeatedly heard Burch boast "that he only likes to hire gay men and beautiful women" and describe gay men as more productive.

Ardigo says that as a gay man he was offended by the remarks and as an HR professional, he was aware that the discriminatory hiring practices Burch described violated New York and federal laws. He is suing for sex discrimination and wrongful termination. Burch's lawyer says there was no discrimination involved and Ardigo was fired for "a performance-related issue."

Just goes to show you that sexual orientation MUST be included in any Federal Equal Opportunity laws because discrimination can go both ways - you can be discriminated against just for being straight as well as for being gay.

Ultraworld

May 11, 2012 11:23 AM CDT

Sounds like an honest HR executive who got sick of a dishonest boss. His sexual orientation is meaningless.